
Albert Mark Galaburda (born 20 July 1948
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
) is a cognitive and behavioral neurologist with a special focus on the biologic bases of developmental cognitive disorders. He is the Emily Fisher Landau Professor of
Neurology
Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...
and
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the science, scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a Multidisciplinary approach, multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, an ...
at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...
, the Director of the Office for Diversity, Inclusion, and Career Advancement at
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Massachusetts is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital (founded in 1916) and New England Deaconess Hospital (founded ...
, Boston, and Co-director of the Harvard University Interfaculty Initiative on Mind Brain and Behavior, together with psychologist Alfonso Caramazza. He is best known for his development of the
Geschwind-Galaburda hypothesis, which helps explain differences in cognitive abilities on the basis of sex hormones and immunological characteristics and their relationship to
lateralization of brain function
The lateralization of brain function is the tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be specialized to one side of the brain or the other. The median longitudinal fissure separates the human brain into two distinct cerebr ...
, as well as for his pioneering studies on the biological foundations of developmental dyslexia. Other work includes the anatomical organization of the auditory cortex in the brains of monkeys and humans and the neuroanatomical and neurodevelopmental bases of brain laterality and asymmetry. He attended the Six-Year Liberal Arts-Medicine Program at
Boston University School of Medicine
The Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, formerly the Boston University School of Medicine, is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1848, the medical school was the first institution in the world t ...
, graduating with an AB-MD degree in 1971, and completed a residency in Internal Medicine and a residency in Neurology at Boston City Hospital, now
Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a non-profit 514-bed academic medical center in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest safety-net hospital and Level I trauma center in New England.
BMC employs 1,466 physicians—including 711 residents and f ...
. He was trained in Medicine under Norman Levinsky and in Neurology under
Norman Geschwind
Norman Geschwind (January 8, 1926 – November 4, 1984) was a pioneering American behavioral neurologist, best known for his exploration of behavioral neurology through disconnection models based on lesion analysis.
Early life
Norman Geschwi ...
. He has published numerous scientific articles and books in the field of cognitive neurology, with a focus on learning disabilities and attention disorders, especially in adults.
In October 2017, he received The Dyslexia Foundation's Einstein Award, which honors an individual who is not dyslexic, but has made significant contributions to increasing our understanding of dyslexia and improving the lives of individuals with
dyslexia
Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...
. Other awards include the Pattison Prize in Neuroscience, Scientist of the Year from the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, the Neuronal Plasticity Prize from the IPSEN Foundation of France, the Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award from Harvard Medical School, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Behavioral Neurology from the
American Academy of Neurology
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is a professional society representing over 38,000 neurologists and neuroscientists. As a medical specialty society it was established in 1948 by A.B. Baker of the University of Minnesota to advance the a ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galaburda, Albert
1948 births
Living people
Chilean neurologists
People from Santiago
Boston University School of Medicine alumni
Harvard Medical School faculty